Please read: Colossians 3
On my last post on “Repentance” (2 Peter 1:1-11) I
focused on some of the qualities we as Christians are to continue to persevere
on our Christian walk. In today’s
reading, through Paul’s words, we also find the encouragement to persevere as
he calls us to: “keep
seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God.”
This means, we are to
intentionally and continually seek Him, and in the second verse we read:
“Set your mind and keep
focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things],
not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].” (3:2)
That is, we must make a
habit, a discipline to keep our minds (our beings) focused on the things that
please God.
"The believer is to 'seek the things… above.' The
word 'seek' marks aspiration, desire, and passion…. In order to seek these
things the mind must be set on them." (Morgan)
"Love heavenly
things; study them; let your hearts be entirely engrossed by
them. Now, that you are converted to God, act in reference to heavenly things
as ye did formerly in reference to those of earth." (Clarke)
King David, is known as
“a man after God’s heart”, for he loved his Lord wholeheartedly, and in many of
his Psalms we can realize his longing for God:
Psalm 84:1-2 “How lovely are Your
dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul (my life, my inner self) longs for and greatly desires the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul (my life, my inner self) longs for and greatly desires the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
David even gave these
instructions to his people before the construction of God’s temple:
“Now set your heart and
your soul to seek (inquire of, require as your vital necessity) the Lord your
God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may
bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy
articles and utensils of God into the house built for the Name
(Presence) of the Lord.”
(1 Chron. 22:19 AMP)
Thanks to Jesus’s Saving
Sacrifice, His Holy Spirit dwells in us! We don’t need a sanctuary to meet with
God anymore! It has been our Father’s desire to be in communion with us:
“…If anyone [really] loves Me, he will
keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him
and make Our dwelling place with him. (John 14:16-17 AMP)
Isn’t this an amazing
privilege we sometimes take for granted? We let the busyness, the difficulties,
and other “earthly things” take the place that should be reserved for the
things above!
Paul reminds us: “3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real]
life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (3:3-4)
We have been transformed
through His Sacrifice, and even though our lives in this world can be
difficult, we are not alone for He is with us. He is “our life”, our ALL! And because
of Him, we also have the great promise of eternal life with Him!! This is
really humbling… what great HONOR!! Thank you Jesus!!
“After a man has attained unto eternal life by
confiding in the Lord Jesus, he then goes on to seek the Lord in quite another
way…The man now seeks the Lord by daily and constant prayer, seeking that he
may be upheld, guided, constrained in paths of righteousness, and restrained
from the ways of sin. He becomes a seeker of the Lord after sanctification as
once he was after justification. And then he becomes a seeker of the Lord in a
further sense. He seeks to enjoy the Lord's love, and his gracious fellowship
and communion. He seeks to get near in reverent friendship to his Lord. He now
longs to grow up in the likeness of Christ, that his intercourse with the
Father and the Son may be more close, more sweet, more continuous. He feels
that God is his Father, and that he is no longer at a distance from him in one
sense, for he is made nigh by the blood of the cross. Yet sometimes he is oppressed
with a sense of his old evil heart of unbelief and in departure from the living
God, and he cries out, "Draw me nearer to thyself." (C. Spurgeon)
Father, forgive me for the times I live to please
myself, rather than you. Sometimes I would rather do things my way, instead of
submitting to you and your plans. Please help me to walk in obedience and to
seek Your Will in every step I take. Yes Lord, draw me nearer to you! In Jesus’
Name. I pray. Amen
Mari
